Just Twilight

“Oh, we just met for a drink.”

Every time Seungwoon acted like this, Junyoung felt like slapping him with all her might. She accepted Mihyang’s gaze with as calm an expression as she could muster. If she looked away, people would think she was hiding something.

Of course, she had already expected that Mihyang would look her in the eyes and keep up with this. In the end, there wasn’t much she could do about it.

Mihyang’s lips curved into a slight smile as she continued to stare at Junyoung. She nodded and set her chopsticks down.

“So, you took Sara home and then met Junyoung?”

“Mom, that’s…”

Seungwoon, who had arrived a little late, suddenly cut in, his eyes wide in surprise as he quickly glanced at Junyoung. Mihyang, casually intertwining her fingers, responded with a relaxed tone.

“Well, being second in the Minyeon Daily isn’t too bad. More importantly, it’s good to have a media company involved—makes everything more comfortable, you know? I heard that Sara’s been traveling around France doing art, and she only recently returned. I arranged this meeting after hearing about it. She’s so picky, she doesn’t meet just anyone, but she agreed after seeing your photo. She thanked her lucky stars for your good looks.”

“Mom, let’s talk about this later…”

“Junyoung helped set up the bridge, so you should do your best in return.”

Seungwoon, who had been whispering quietly, went silent. Junyoung, unable to meet his gaze as it came toward her, picked up her chopsticks. In this awkward atmosphere, that was the only thing that seemed natural to do.

“Junyoung... set up the bridge?”

Seungwoon asked softly without taking his eyes off her. Mihyang responded while lifting her glass of water.

“You’re not a kid anymore. You should be thinking about marriage within a year or two. Don’t make Junyoung suffer for no reason, and just get on with it. You’re good enough for her, right, Junyoung? Sara’s quite nice.”

Mihyang’s words were never without an agenda. Once Junyoung realized that, it became much easier to respond. She nodded readily, offering a gentle smile.

“Yes. There’s nothing to complain about. She has a lively personality, and she enjoys sports, so I think she’ll get along well with Seungwoon.”

“You see? Junyoung, who’s known you the longest, is saying it’s fine.”

At times like these, Mihyang was truly insufferable. Not that Junyoung was any better, of course.

While Mihyang spoke, Junyoung finally turned to look at Seungwoon, who had been staring at her the whole time. His dark brown eyes were slightly trembling, his face void of any smile. With a calm expression, she spoke evenly.

“Do your best. She’s nice. It’ll help with your work too.”

Seungwoon’s lips trembled slightly, and then he suddenly stood up from his chair.

“I’m not feeling well. I’ll head out first.”

He muttered softly and immediately exited the restaurant. Mihyang clicked her tongue as she watched his retreating figure.

“What does he even like about you? He’s my son, but his tastes are really something.”

If only I knew, too.

Junyoung, who had put her chopsticks down, remained silent. Annoyed, Mihyang tapped the table.

“Well, when you were studying abroad, you had girlfriends, didn’t you?”

He must have done it out of loneliness. There were always women approaching him, no matter where he went.

As the silence stretched on, Junyoung noticed a wrinkle forming between Mihyang’s brows. Junyoung finally spoke.

“I’m keeping my boundaries. I’m just a friend Seungwoon can talk to.”

Mihyang chuckled at Junyoung’s indifferent response. She shrugged and crossed her arms.

“I don’t believe you. I believe in your greed. You wouldn’t want to give up everything you have right now, would you?”

Of course not.

Junyoung silently gazed at Mihyang. Mihyang’s smile deepened.

“Do you still go to the hospital often?”@@novelbin@@

Junyoung lowered her eyes without answering right away.

“Yes. I’m always grateful.”

“Good. Let’s eat. The desserts here are good, not too sweet.”

Mihyang wiped her mouth with a napkin, and with a nod of her hand, a waiter came running. Junyoung picked up her spoon as the dessert—a bland, unsweetened one—was placed in front of her.

She only had one thought: she just wanted to get home and sleep.

***

7:24 AM. Junyoung checked the time as she entered the company building. While other teams started at 9, the Risk Management team started an hour earlier.

“Good morning.”

After greeting the security guard, she scanned her employee card and made her way to the office. At this hour, there weren’t many people in the company. Junyoung liked to take a moment, even if it was brief, to organize her tasks in the quiet office before the rest arrived.

But today, that wouldn’t be possible. As soon as she entered, she met the gaze of Team Leader Seong. She mechanically nodded her head. He waved his hand dismissively, his face weary as he brewed coffee.

Team Leader Seong had been working in the marketing department until last year, when he took over the Risk Management team. He was an alumnus of the same university as President Hong Inseob, Mihyang’s older brother, and had worked on the same team when he was assigned to the branch office.

The company was subtly divided into factions. It didn’t need to be said which side Team Leader Seong was on, being aligned with President Hong Inseob and Vice President Na Hyunshik.

In a situation like this, no one would usually care about the opinions of a lowly employee. But Junyoung’s situation was different.

Her background, being from the Hangeong Scholarship Foundation and a friend of the team leader of the Business Planning team, Na Hyunshik’s son, was widely known. She had earned recognition for her abilities and was the youngest member to join the Risk Management team. Rumors had spread that Mihyang, who was often seen bringing her into meetings, was particularly close to her.

Neither Mihyang nor Seungwoon tried to hide their connections to her. Mihyang wanted to cultivate an image of nurturing talented individuals, and Seungwoon, when he first met her in the company, had immediately smiled and waved at her like an idiot.

Some even predicted that Junyoung would eventually become a new member of the Vice President’s family. Of course, anyone who knew Mihyang a little better would scoff at such rumors.

In truth, people were hardly interested in her thoughts.

They could judge things as they saw fit. After all, if Seungwoon were to get married, the rumors would disappear.

As she sat down and powered on her computer, Junyoung’s eyes briefly lingered on her phone. She recalled the image of Seungwoon leaving in the middle of their meal the other day. Since then, there had been no contact.

Ultimately, he would follow his mother’s wishes. He always had.

Everything—from his college major and minor to his choice of school for studying abroad, the place he would live, and even the timing—had always been decided by Mihyang. Though Seungwoon had voiced his opinions, he never really tried to defy his mother’s stubbornness. That was about the extent of it.

Moreover, since graduating high school, Seungwoon had never openly expressed any feelings toward her. In truth, neither Mihyang nor Junyoung were sure about it.

In reality, he had had several girlfriends, and while he had been somewhat persistent, he had never crossed boundaries like physical affection. So, Junyoung had never had the opportunity to refuse him.

But sometimes, Seungwoon would do things that conveyed more certainty than words—like the way he looked at her from afar or how he would look after her when they were close. Or, like yesterday, when he introduced her to a woman and then stormed out after realizing it was her.

If someone were to ask if anyone had ever taken advantage of his kindness, Junyoung would answer no. But generally, those actions hadn’t been particularly significant.

If asked whether she had ever thought of using Seungwoon to become part of the owner’s family, she would answer no, but to be honest, it didn’t make sense for Junyoung.

Na Seungwoon, as Mihyang said, was not a man who would covet everything she had.

“Deputy Yoon.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

The curt call broke her train of thought, and Junyoung stood up. Team Leader Seong, who had his hands cupped around the receiver between his shoulder and head, spoke quickly.

“Go to the Busan factory relocation site. It seems like a city official has been causing trouble over the previous accident, still sticking to the issue.”

Junyoung’s eyes narrowed. Glancing briefly at the materials spread across her desk, she asked,

“Busan? I have a meeting with TANDOZ in the morning…”

“I’ll handle that. Go to Busan. The factory schedule cannot be delayed. You know that, right? Stay there until it’s resolved. You should also meet with our people in the administrative office. It won’t be solved in a day or two.”

Before she could protest, Team Leader Seong, already resuming his conversation with someone over the phone, was already speaking with a warm smile. Junyoung let out a bitter laugh, lightly tossing the pen she had been holding.

This was how it always went. Projects being taken away at the last moment.

After handling three international trips in two weeks, now it was Busan. It was ridiculous, but at this point, Junyoung didn’t have the energy to argue with Team Leader Seong.

On the bright side, though, it wasn’t all bad. She would get a short rest on the way down and, maybe more importantly, avoid Seungwoon, who might unexpectedly show up at any moment.

With a short sigh, she packed her bag. As she walked through the office, greeting the people who were starting to arrive, the sound of her heels echoed through the hallway.

***

She would be content with just a cup of coffee. Repeating this in her mind, Junyoung frowned. It was hot. The air was humid, almost as if it might rain, and she could feel her clothes sticking to her skin.

The construction on the site was in full swing. They had taken over a closed factory and were renovating it to fit their needs. An accident had occurred early last month—during the demolition of the roof, a worker had fallen about 10 meters.

Luckily, the worker survived, but he had suffered severe injuries to his left arm and right leg. Even after surgery, it was likely that he wouldn’t be able to live a normal life again.